Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The point is that 53 Down's syndrome children will be denied what is a very small sum of money, some €25,000. The families raised €50,000 themselves. Does the Taoiseach accept that this is at odds with his commitment? Will he reverse it?

A Cheann Comhairle, you will notice how short I am in my questions. The Government's five-point plan has now been destroyed by the current Minister for Health. Prior to Christmas, he said that there would be and should be no more than 70 patients a day on trolleys. He said he had zero tolerance of patients waiting more than nine hours on trolleys. Yesterday, there were 200 patients on trolleys for longer than nine hours. Today, there are 424 patients on trolleys. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, once again, has among the highest numbers. Last year, there were 93,000 patients on trolleys, the highest figure since records began. Does the Taoiseach accept that the Government has created absolute chaos within our hospital system and that there is no stability whatsoever?

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